To fly under the Moon
by SchrodingerDM
Summary: Follow Nightshade as she joins the newly formed Shadowbolts. They are Luna's secret fliers, the best of the best, but no one will ever witness their heroism
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a crazy idea that came to me while I read some other MLP fanfiction in this very site. You might catch some references here and there. By the way, I really need an English speaking beta-reader, if anyone wants to help, I'd be grateful.**

**Oh, and I own nothing in this fic, not the named characters, original or otherwise, or the show this is based of. I'm just a 22 year old who likes to write about flying ponies :P**

Nightshade let herself fall down to her bed with the loudest thump she could manage without angering the landlady. Her modest room atop old Winter Breeze's house was a far cry from most houses of Canterlot, but hey, that's what you can afford with the salary of a cloud pusher...

The room wasn't big, but wasn't small either. Although it did look small with all the mess. Several magazines and newspapers on the Wonderbolts littered the floor, and her winter wrap-up gear was laying near a big chest in the corner, next to her training cap and sunglasses. On the central table, several unfinished weather reports lay asking for some attention, but the young mare wasn't touching them now. She was not lazy, nor untidy, and in other days the room would be looking clean and dandy. But right now, she was so frustrated she couldn't care less about her room's state.

At least the bed was good. Very good, actually. She lay spread legged, spread winged, with her weathercrew hat dropped unceremoniously on the floor, and her dark blue mane a complete mess over her head, not that she cared. She sighed deeply as she shifted to the side, facing the western wall, where her two life passions stood side by side.

One poster featured Princess Luna, in her full glory as princess of the night, standing proud and strong, with a stern gaze directed towards the Wonderbolts, whose standard lineup poster was positioned so that it seemed the pegasi where facing the princess and vice-versa.

Nightshade had just blown up her chance with said Wonderbolts. "You're a good flier, girl, nice moves and top notch coordination. But, I'm sorry, you're just not fast enough. I really hope you keep training and try again next year." That's what Spitfire herself had told the young mare.

Her first chance into the Wonderbolts and she blew it! Yeah, yeah, very few joined at their first try, and indeed she was young and could try again next year, but that mean another full year pushing clouds around with that jerk of a boss...

She let out a long, overly dramatic sigh and tried to close her eyes. She had the night shift at weather patrol today, so she could take the afternoon to wallow in whatever it is pegasi are supposed to wallow in. In her head she reviewed her performance: she started slow, flying casually, then picked up speed and started with the acrobatics. She did a pretty competent display, beginning with spinning around several clouds in succession, and finishing with her trademark "Wind Whisper", which consisted of flying into a cloud, then quickly out, using the speed and some pegasus magic to leave an afterimage of herself, then quickly bank and head back to where she started the move, giving the illusion of duplicating herself for a faint second. Nightshade prided herself in her way of pulling stunts, safe and sound, nowhere near as reckless as some other ponies who were at the audition today. Well, the reckless ones got in, tough. It seemed that to be a Wonderbolt you needed more than just cool tricks, you needed this... 'Passion' that, try as she might, Nightshade never really had.

She was almost falling asleep when there was a knock of hooves in her eastern window, the one big enough for a full grown pegasus pass through. "Special delivery for one miss Nightshade!", The mailmare called from outside.

Something snapped inside the young mare and she rolled off bed and landed graciously on the floor without making a single sound. She shook her head so her mane would sit properly messed into her head and trotted curiously to the window.

"Yes?" She called as she pushed the window open with her head.

The mailmare was a middle aged mare with a brown coat, caramel mane and her cutie mark obscured by the huge mail saddlebags. She held out a midnight black envelope, which Nightshade took with her mouth, getting even more curious with the unusual color.

She signed the form the mailmare asked to, bid the good mare farewell, then pushed the wheather reports apart so she could place the envelope in her table. She stopped and eyed it like it was some ancient, mysterious artifact.

It was black like the night sky, it even seemed to have little stars shinning every now and then, and her name and address were written in silver embossed letters. It was closed with a dark blue seal emblazoned with a crescent moon.

When it dawned upon Nightshade what exactly that crest meant, she almost ripped the envelope open:

_My Little Pony,_

_ It has come to my attention that you have failed your admission test with the Wonderbolts. It seems you are not good enough to fly under the sun. However, I firmly believe on second chances, and also believe you may be fit to fly under the moon. If you believe that as well, come meet me at the Silver Fortress, this very day, as soon as the sun goes down._

_ Be prepared to earn your right to fly under my colors._

_Princess Luna of Equestria_

Nightshade let out a YAY so loud it seemed to shake the whole three stories tall building. There was the slight problem of this meeting being during her shift at the weather patrol today. Well, it wasn't a tough decision to make.

Shaking her head as if to shake away chief Grey Cloud's complaints, she opened the large eastern window and dove out, her earlier melancholy dissipated completely. Better stretch those wings a little if she wanted to make an impression.

The Silver Fortress was a relic of an age long gone. The last time Nightshade had been there, was for an illegal show of the Moongazers, a rock band which allegedly supported Nightmare Moon. That had been about three years before the whole 'Nightmare Moon comes back thing', though. Back then, the fortress was abandoned.

Well, after Luna was reinstated as princess of the night, the fortress was rebuilt to serve as the headquarters for the newly formed Lunar Guard. It was beautiful, in a sense. Built into the side opposite side of the mountain that housed Canterlot, made of shiny grey marble and obsidian, with two towers that stabbed into the night sky like a pair unicorn horns, it had a charming, but stern look.

The only ways to enter the Fortress where magic or flying, as it was built too high in the mountain to be accessed by hoof. It was a military strongpoint from a time when ponies fought each other and discord ruled the land. Whether that's literally or figuratively speaking was another matter altogether.

Making access even more difficult was Timber Woods. It was a forest a lot like Ponyville's Everfree: a place of free flowing nature and magic, and, in Timber Woods special case, home to several vicious packs of timber wolves. The Woods served as a natural barrier to any enemies that might attempt an assault against the fortress, but even in the peacetime it made the ancient castle look even more gloomy, like a stone gargoyle perched on the mountainside, overlooking the dark woods from where every now and then a chilling howl would arise.

As Nightshade approached, gliding through an easy night gale, she realized the Fortress was far from abandoned now. Magic orbs bathed the balconies in silver light, mimicking the moonlight that seemed to shine brighter against the stone towers. Ponies in silver armor patrolled the balconies and walkways, while bat-winged pegasi signaled her to land on the largest, central courtyard, the one which was slowly filling with eager pegasi just like Nightshade herself.

The courtyard was a semicircle built around the massive doors of the castle. The doors themselves where wide enough that an adult dragon would pass trough without difficult, and the courtyard was probably built to house an entire fighting company of pegasi, which were far more than the thirty-something occupying it right now.

Looking at the fortress from 'ground level', Nightshade realized how small she was and how cyclopean the architecture was a millennia ago. She trotted around, barely paying any attention to the other ponies, and barely containing her nervousness. There were some pegasi around that also where auditioning for the Wonderbolts earlier today, but there were also these others, built stallions and mares with cropped manes that looked like military types.

Nightshade was never a fan of the military, even though the bat-winged pegasi of Luna's guard where undeniably cool, they were still stuck-up jerks who liked to boss ponies around, just like old Gray Cloud of the weather patrol. Her bad memories went back all the way to flight school in Cloudsdale, when some bone-headed pegasus would make she and her friends fight hoof-to-hoof with the griffin that attended the same class. Self-defense class was the worst thing she suffered ever, and it had stained her view of the equestrian military forever.

However, no military in the world would make her miss an opportunity to meet princess Luna. She could fight the whole griffin air force right now if she had to. Anxious as she was, all she could do was pace the courtyard, moving her eyes from the skies to the big metallic doors of the fortress, trying to guess from where the princess was going to appear.

"So, what's it with the princess?" She heard a pony ask another one, nearby.

"It's a coup. She's staging a coup to overthrow the tyrant and she wants us".

"Oh, please, not this again!" Nightshade joined the conversation with an exaggerated sigh and a hoof pointing at the pony who talked about coups. She was a young mare too, purple coat, magenta mane, and a rose for a cutie mark. "Look, I don't like miss sunshine either, but she's nowhere near as bad a ruler as someponies paint her!"

Okay, that was something new, Nightshade standing up for Celestia. It was a weird day anyway. Was going to get weirder, though.

"Yeah, she's right. Also, if the princess wanted to stage a coup she would not call someponies who can't shut their traps, like us..."

The voice was unmistakably male, and carried a low growl that was equal parts menace and authority. Nightshade and the other two mares turned to look at the pegasus who also barged in the conversation.

He had a dark grey coat, with a cropped dark blue mane and what seemed to be an ice meteor for a cutie mark. He was only slightly taller than the three females, but he seemed to tower above them, with a menacing glare and wings flared out.

The two conspiring mares puffed their indignation and trotted nonchalantly away to find someone who would listen to their theories. The stallion just lowered his wings with a chuckle, disarmed his death glare and turned to Nightshade with a smile:

"Nice to find someone who's not a foal who thinks Nightmare Moon had it right. Luna's changed, I know, but she's no better ruler than Celestia..." There was a brief pause, just enough so Nightshade would think for a moment the stallion was leaving her alone, then he said: "I'm Charger, by the way, 9th aerial recon, and you are?"

Nightshade was about to tell him to buck off when they both, and every other pony in the courtyard, heard the booming voice most of them expected.

"FLIERS OF THE NIGHT, WELCOME TO MY LAIR! GATHER TO ME NOW, MY LITTLE ONES, SO I CAN SHOW YOU THE FUTURE THAT MAY AWAIT YOU."

She had lost the 'Royal We', but the Royal Canterlot Voice really suited her well. Luna hovered above them, the full moon framing her as she landed on a raised platform at the edge of the courtyard. She was clad in dark blue battle armor, with her mane like a starry night sky flowing free on its own motions. She was beautiful and terrifying at the same time, and elicited a collective 'oooh' as she landed and was flanked by one of the bat-winged pegasi and a grey unicorn wearing a lab coat.

"Listen now." Her voice didn't boom in the night again, but Nightshade could hear her clearly. "You are here because, frankly, you are failures."

The princess's blue eyes bored into Nightshade's very soul. Even if she spoke to the crowd, it seemed like she was talking just to the young Wonderbolt washout:

"Some of you failed to join the wonderbolts. Some are military loose cannons. And others just have a lot of untapped potential. I have watched you, my little ponies, and now I might have found the place for you."

The princess paced the small platform in slow, strong and measured steps, with her wings tucked closely to her body so they wouldn't betray any emotion. She took her time to look each pony in the eyes, to make sure they understood she knew them, and she thought the same about all of them. However, Nightshade couldn't shake the feeling the princess was watching her all the time:

"As you know, I have resumed my duties as princess of the night, and have assumed direct command over the Lunar Guard. I must confess I spent too much time focusing on taxes, titles and other such bureaucracy that I have almost lost touch with the common ponies."

She stopped pacing and looked straight at Nightshade, who felt like sinking into the stonework at that very same moment.

"Unfortunately, it was never my way of ruling to be close to the populace." She sighed before continuing "Do not misunderstand me, I do love my subjects as much as my sister, but, try as I might, I am not the Sun. I do not deal in charm, I deal in intellect; I do not speak in soft, warm talk, I speak in cold, hard truth; My way is not open fanfare and loud music, my way is cloak and dagger, dark and moody."

The princess' voice raised up a little as she got excited about her new project. Her excitement slowly contaminated each of the assembly pegasi, as they perked their ears up and forward towards the princess, and some, Nightshade included, even started to smile as the alicorn's words went on:

"You fly for me, you fly silently in the night. You will not perform stunts for an astonished crowd, you will not fight open threats to Equestria. You will work in shadows, to bring relief to the needy, to fight the threats that loom in darkness, to fling a sliver of light into the night. Let the sun have her Wonderbolts. You will fly under the moon, you will be Shadowbolts."

There was a collective gasp as Luna dropped the name. Nightshade was sure she could hear a muffled "I knew it!" coming from somewhere. The shadowbolts where sometimes spoken of as terrorists or separatists, but no one knew for sure if they even existed.

Keeping a straight face, but with lively eyes that betrayed her enthusiasm, Luna raised a hoof, calling for their attention one more time

"But rest assured, my little ponies, that this is no dark coup or evil scheme. You will serve Esquestria, you just will not serve her in bright daylight. You may never have the adoration of the masses, but I, and my sister, will forever remember you for your work. What say you, washouts and misfits, would you fly for me?"

A loud cheer erupted from the pegasi even though some of them took their leave with lowered heads and mumbled complaints. Nightshade didn't care. She stomped her hooves furiously on the ground and cheered as loud as her throat allowed to, a cheer that turned to a laugh as she realized why she didn't join the Wonderbolts: like the princess, she didn't like it loud and bright, she always loved the night more than the day. It was in her name, the same way as her pale blue coat and dark blue mane copied the night sky's hues, just as her cutie mark was a waning moon and her special talent was being silent.

Nightshade realized she was built to fly under the moon, and by the goddesses would she earn that right!

Luna smiled as the cheer died down, a deep, sincere smile, then said:

"Very well, my little ones, I like your enthusiasm. Unfortunately, I don't have enough places for all of you, so I will have to pick only the best. Let me introduce doctor Star Sparkle" She motioned to the unicorn to her left, who made a small bow "And captain Nightshroud," She motioned to the bat-winged pegasus to her right "The good captain will handle the selection process as the doctor will measure your performance. I will watch your progress from the fortress' observation tower. Good luck, all of you, give your very best."

And with those words the princess of the night took to the sky and vanished into the starry night. But before any of the assembled pegasi could even utter a word, the bat-winged captain Nightshroud took a step forward and spoke, with the coolest, hardest voice possible:

"Okay, you colts and fillies, now that our good princess has laid the groundwork... I CAN GO ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE ON YOUR SORRY FLANKS!"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Okay, second chapter took longer than expected. Blame the University. By the way, I'm still looking for a beta reader, and I made some changes to the first chapter as well.**

**Oh, and I own nothing in this fic.**

_Chapter II: Acceptance_

The captain's voice boomed across the courtyard with such force that the assembled pegasi had to plant their hooves firmly in the stonework and fan out their wings so they wouldn't be blown away. Seeming satisfied with what he saw, the captain continued his assault on their ears, bodies and spirits:

-All right you bunch of cloud pushers! The good princess might think you have what it takes to be Shadowbolts, BUT I DON'T! I THINK YOU ALL ARE UNDESERVING OF THIS HONOR! AND I WILL PROVE IT TO ALL YOU LAZY FLANKS!

Nightshade had to close her eyes before the power of his voice blew them out. Fortunately, he decided to pipe down just a bit before continuing:

-Now, direct your little eyes to the doors behind you, if you will.

There was an unspoken threat in that phrase that made the pale blue pegasus and all the others assembled turn around slowly. They could hear the sound of metal grinding against metal and it wasn't long before they realized it was the ancient mechanisms of the fortress opening the massive doors.

There was an empty sound as the doors opened. They should have creaked and protested, yet all that could be heard was the grinding of the machinery. Even the wolves and other animals in the forest below stood silent for a moment as several silhouettes where revealed behind the doors. Then they took a step forward, and, for a split second, the world stopped.

They where six pegasi, four mares and two stallions, and they wore purple jumpsuits with black facemasks. Their eyes where hidden by very expressive yellow goggles, lightning bolts adorned their necks and ankles, and on their flanks, where their cutie marks should be, there where winged skulls, their grim badges of office. They were Shadowbolts.

Nightshade spent all her willpower to keep her wings down, as showing such emotion right now would be embarrassing. However, she wished she could scream like a rabid fangirl right now. "Focus, Nightshade, focus!" She told herself "Before the night ends you will be flying with these guys"

Behind the six Shadowbolts, a larger figured lumbered. As the Wonderbolt's darker reflections trotted forward, the figure revealed itself to be a muscular adolescent dragon. He, Nightshade was pretty sure it was a he, walked forward lazily, as if unimpressed by whomever where in the fortress tonight. His scales where jet black, with blood red spines adorning his back, tail and elbows, one clawed paw covered his mouth as he yawned and the other clutched a clipboard and quill.

Behind her, Nightshade could barely hear the captain chuckle, but she could hear his voice all right. By now she was sure her ears would be ringing the whole night and day with his yelling:

" Fillies and gentlecolts, meet Shadowbolt flights Alpha and Beta, with Captains Moongazer and Stratus, Lieutants Grim and Crash and Sergeants Dizzy and Big Bee." The captain didn't care to point who was who, so, for a moment, they all seemed the same. "They will be gauging your performance tonight and will help us decide who gets to join, and who gets to try again next year. The big, lazy lizard behind them is Blaze, our good doctor's assistant."

As if on cue, the unicorn mare who had stood silent before took a step forward and spoke. While the captain's voice was brass and loud, hers was soft, almost silky, yet it was still as sharp as the captain's, only a different kind of sharp.

"As the princess said, we have watched you. All of you have files we will now cross check with the way you have behaved until this point. Call it a character summary, if you will, but it's just a formality. Once we are done checking if you are you, then the real testing will begin."

The dragon walked right through the middle of the pegasi crowd, forcing them to make way for his large frame. Nightshade noticed how everything seemed cold and distant in that fortress. So different from Canterlot Castle after all.

As the dragon reached the platform where the doctor and the captain stood, the Shadowbolts lined up opposite to them, in a disciplined, synchronized form that was very similar to the way the Wonderbolts moved. All the six purple-clad pegasi had these large grins on their faces that felt so deliciously evil that Nightshade thought they would ask her to join the dark side for some horrible, mustache-twirling villainy.

She would have accepted right then.

"ALL RIGHT, YOU BUNCH OF BUTTERFLIES! LINE UP!"

The Captain's voice brought her crashing down from her dreams and she tried to scramble into a coherent line with the rest of the pegasi. She bumped into a mare here, a stallion there, then somepony stepped on her hoof, and she ate some other pony's wing. Spitting a dark blue feather, Nightshade just decided to stand before one of the Wonderbolts and let the other pegasi sort it out.

She stood face to face with a massive mare. Really, she was as large as a really large earth stallion, which was unusual for both a mare and a pegasus, but was nowhere near as weird as her bright poofy bubblegum pink mane. It was so unruly and messy, so funny looking it begged to be laughed at so much Nightshade had to focus on her own hooves so she wouldn't burst out in a long and loud laugh.

They ended up forming six lines, one in front of each of the Shadowbolts. Nightshade didn't see it, but behind them, both the captain and the doctor shared a disapproving look. The pale blue pegasus could hear their hooves as they got down from the platform, though, and then they started walking among the assembled shadowbolt aspirants, with the dragon following close behind.

The captain would randomly stop in front of some pony, look him or her as if sizing him (or her) down, then check something in the clipboard the dragon was holding, maybe exchange a few words with the doctor, then move along with a curt nod.

The tension was so high one could bite it and chew. The Shadowbolts stood completely immobile, with their eyes and emotions hidden cleverly behind their goggles. The quick inspection didn't last more than a minute, yet it seemed like all night had passed and the sun was about to rise. Yet, just as it became almost unbearable, the trio stopped in front of a light grey mare with a silver mane:

"You, Silver Lining, you've won four running of the leaves in Fillydelphia, and distinguished yourself when princess Celestia had to contain the local parasprite infestation. Very good." The words of the captain made the mare beam and smile proudly, then that smile quickly turned upside down. "You are useless to us. Leave. Now"

She whimpered something as everypony else winced at the captain's last words. Still whimpering, the silver maned pegasus took to the night sky in a slow, sad flight. The captain gave a half-hearted chuckle, but everypony else's expressions where completely unreadable.

Then the bat-winged pegasus turned to another pony, a big, brown coated stallion with a military crew-cut and said:

"Shield Wall, Sixth aerial cavalry, Equestria's finest. Hurrah!"

"Hurrah." The stallion's voice resonated deep and strong, with just a hint of pride.

"You ashamed the colors of the cavalry, and now you want to shame to colors of the Shadowbolts. GET OUT, YOU SPINELESS WIMP!"

The stallion didn't say a word, he just lowered his ears, his eyes, and his head, and flew away as if he had nothing more to do. The captain didn't chuckle this time, instead he gave a deep sigh as he pivoted on the spot and found another victim:

"Sunbeam... What kind of name is that?"

She was a mare with a light yellow coat, and a bright orange mane. She stood out like a sore wing in the middle of the other, mostly dark colored pegasi. Everypony not in uniform in the courtyard winced when the captain asked his question, everypony but Sunbeam.

"You should be a day flyer, not a night one. Buck me, with records like yours you should be on the Wonderbolts. Why are you not there, sunny? Too afraid? Too lazy? You didn't even apply for them! GET OUT, LAZYBONES!"

She stood her ground, unfazed by the captain's powerful voice. Then she actually stared him down and said:

"No."

"ARE YOU QUESTIONING MY ORDERS, YOU LAZY CLOUD PUSHER? I SAID GET OUT, NOW GET THE BUCK OUT!"

She didn't flinch like the two ponies right beside her in the line. As she stood her ground against the captain's assault, Nightshade could make up her cutie mark: a shield with a sun emblazoned in it. More than that, the filly's courage was contagious. Every single pony felt a little bit sure, a little bit more courageous, as Sunbeam firmed her hooves on the stonework and flared her wings out. She was going to stand up to this captain, even if it meant she was going down harder than the two others before her:

"I said 'no'. I was invited here by the princess, and she said herself you would put us to test. As of now, I see no testing. Unless the princess herself comes down here and tells me to leave, I'm staying. Now test me, and take your time to test everypony else here too. I'm sure some of them are good enough for whatever it is that passes for standards you have."

There was a moment of silence. The Shadowbolt's grins seemed to grow a little, and the otherwise stern doctor appeared to smile too, even the dragon now looked wide eyed at the yellow pegasus response. Then the captain roared a laugh, loud and boisterous:

"AHAHAHAHAHA! THAT'S THE SPIRIT! Now listen up, kids, like Sunny here said, you have been invited here by Luna herself, which means all of you have the potential to qualify. Every single one of you! SO YOU BETTER EARN IT! IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE YOU CAN DO THIS, THEN JUST LEAVE ALREADY. IF ALL IT TAKES FOR YOU TO LEAVE IS SOME DUMB BULLY TO YELL SOME BAD WORDS AT YOU, THEN LEAVE ALREADY! THIS WORLD IS NOT MADE OF EVERYTHING NICE AND SOMETIMES BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PONIES."

The captain let his words sink in before continuing in a much more calm and stern tone:

" It is our duty to be ready to face these situations and fight them as hard as we would fight a rampaging hydra. AND IF YOU ARE NOT READY TO DO THAT, THEN JUST BUCKIN' LEAVE ALREADY!"

Nightshade left out a worried sigh she didn't even knew she was holding. She kept asking herself if she would have stood up to the captain like Sunbeam did. Well, now she definitely would. Between the yellow pegasus' words and the captain's no one else was leaving now before the real testing began.

"Good" The Captain continued. His voice was still loud but it didn't ring with hostility anymore. There was a hard kindness in his voice now, the same way as the walls of a castle could be cold and hard, yet still offer protection. "Lieutenant Crash, step forward"

One of the Shadowbolts took a step forward just as the others took a step back. She had an electrical blue mane, with streaks of white running confusedly through it. By her muzzle color one could conclude she had a very light blue coat too. She moved uneasily, with a little shake on every step, her wings where not held close to her body, instead they hung loose, moving constantly and fidgeting with every move the lithe mare made.

"This is Lieutenant Crash, our fastest and best flier. She's also the craziest flier I've ever seen." With these words, the Lieutenant let out a girly giggle. The captain ignored her and continued "She will take a small tour into the Timber Woods, right below the Fortress, and you butterflies will follow her."

Crash started to gingerly trot to the end of the balcony. She moved happily, as if launching herself into one of the most dangerous forests of equestria was no big deal. She stopped just an inch before the chasm at the end of the courtyard and crouched, getting herself ready to fly.

"Pay attention, this is NOT A RACE. You won't beat the Lt, well, at least we don't expect you to, but you can try. The only rules are: if you fly over the treetops, you are disqualified, if you intentionally injure any other ponies, you are disqualified, and you may quit anytime you want, but then you're disqualified too. Follow the Lt through her course, then back here, and you're through the first test. Oh, and try not to hurt yourselves too much, or we'll be forced to disqualify you so you can take care of your wounds."

Nightshade was trying to ready her body and mind to the task ahead, but the howls from the timberwolves where not helping. That, and the lieutenant looking like an electrical battery ready to discharge. The pale pegasus snorted and firmed her hooves. She would earn this.

"Okay, fillies and gentlecolts. Get ready, set and... GO!"

Crash exploded into a corkscrewing ascent, leaving behind a trail of electrical smoke. Some pegasus tried to imitate her crazed movement, but most ended up getting too carried away by it to notice when she took an abrupt turn down and dived into the black forest below.

Nightshade wouldn't be caught doing a reckless trick like that. She simply dived down to the forest, locked the Shadowbolt into her sights and focused on not losing her of view.

It was both an easy and a damn hard task. On the one hoof, the Shadowbolt lieutenant left behind a conspicuous trail of electricity that was easy to follow, on the other hoof, she insisted on flying too close to the trees and taking very tight turns, sometimes even bouncing off one branch to the next.

Nightshade watched as one of the aspirants tried to take a tight turn and ended up crashing her flank into a tree branch. Then another one got too close to the Shadowbolt and got caught in the aftershock as she bounced into a loose branch. A third one got entangled into the thick vines that covered one of the largest trees they passed under.

The forest was already dangerous enough without flying around like a bouncing ball. Nightshade tried her best to avoid the tree trunks and branches, but even though she was flying carefully, she was still picking up bruises and scratches from the reckless path she was being led into.

When they broke through the thick foliage out to the lake in the middle of the forest, things only got worse. Crash dived too close to the water, with her front hooves touching the face of the lake and sending huge waves around her as she moved fast and picked up even more speed on open sky. To make matters worse, her disturbing of the water caused all kind of crocodiles and serpents to wake up and take attention of the ponies flying so close to their hunting grounds.

Nightshade watched in horror as one pony got caught by the biggest crocodile she had ever seen, not that she had seen so many of them. But just as the unlucky pony was about to be eaten alive, a big stallion barreled into the reptile's side, hitting the beast so hard it spat out its meal to be. The stallion then bucked the crocodile in the nose, just to make sure, and resumed his flight.

His cutie mark was an ice meteor. What was his name again? Dasher? Puncher? Charger! As she caught up with him, he turned to her and said, with a confident smile:

"Let's fly in formation. One of us is prey, several of us are a challenge."

Nightshade nodded and fell behind him, signaling with her wings so that others behind her would do the same. Across the lake, she noticed other ponies forming up too, and then noticed one who wouldn't join a formation get caught by a giant snake. This time a Shadowbolt dived from the sky and bucked it hard, making it let go of the straggled pegasus. By then, the formations had almost crossed the lake, and the ones who fell behind for a reason or another all flew away.

It was into the canopy again. This time closer to the ground. They had to break formation or they would crash into the trees.

"Keep your eyes on Crash's trail!" Nightshade saw herself yelling to no one in particular. "Don't try to do the same stunts she does, just focus on flying! We can get through this!"

"Yes, we can"

She didn't register who answered her, but indeed the other pegasi where a lot less reckless now. Maybe it was her advice, or maybe it was just that the crazier ones all had left by now. Anyway, Crash's antics weren't fooling anypony now. She would make a barrel roll into a cluster of thorns and come unscathed on the other side, then every other pegasi would just fly around it. She gingerly flew very close to a beehive, while everypony else avoided it by a good margin. When she bounced across several trees, making their branches wave around so others would have trouble repeating the stunt, only to the stronger stallions and mares to power through and open space to the physically weaker ones behind them, Crash decided it was enough. She turned around, and put her tongue out, blowing a raspberry.

Then she made a ninety degrees turn and blasted up, out of the forest's green maze. Nightshade smiled, a smile that quickly turned into a laugh as she too blasted up, following and followed by the remaining aspirants, all of them battered and bruised, but all of them triumphant.

There were about fifteen of them still in the air, and two or three would have to go back home to treat their injuries. Nightshade flew down to help one of them reach the Fortress. She was a dark grey mare with a light red mane, and by her build and haircut, was either military or very close to it. She had been one of the pegasi who powered through several obstacles to give a chance to the others, now she had to leave or risk permanent injury. It didn't seem right:

"Easy there, it's over now..."

"Yes, it definitely is."

"Don't fret over it, without you half the pagasi wouldn't have made it" Nightshade wished it was a lie, but it wasn't. The military pegasi had both saved several of them and allowed even more to finish by wrecking some obstacles.

"Might be true, yeah. But now I'm out, that's true too."

"I'm Nightshade, what's your name?"

"Rose Thorn. Frontline Cavalry, sixth company."

Nightshade saw herself smiling as she helped a military mare land on the main balcony. A military mare who had way more cuts and bruises than a pony should be allowed to have. A military mare who had to limp so her front hoof, now a fleshy mess, wouldn't touch the ground. A military mare who had destroyed several years worth of prejudice with the same ease she had taken down a river serpent.

"Let's do this then, Thorn. You promise me to come back next year, and I promise you I'll make the cut. So when you show up again I'll be wearing purple and then I'll make sure you make the cut too. Anypony who lays her life down the way you did back there deserves a second chance."

The military mare chuckled heavily. Then leaned forward to share a farewell nuzzle with the weather mare who had helped her fly all the way back. A weather mare that had a sense of coordination way better than several flight leaders she had served under. A weather mare who could pull tight turns and twists with uncomfortable ease. A weather mare who, Rose was sure, would make the cut into the Shadowbolts because it just felt right she did:

"Okay, Shade, I'll make my part. Now go make yours, and kick that captain's flank if you get the chance"

Nightshade giggled as the dark grey pegasus was taken away by the lunar guard to the medical wing of the Silver Fortress. Then she remembered one last thing:

"Hey! I live in Canterlot, Orion Street, at Winter Breeze's. Come by sometime, I want to see you fly when nopony needs saving!"

Rose Thorn smiled and nodded her head. Nightshade wanted to go all the way to the medical wing and make sure she would be all right, but the captain's booming voice remembered her the night was still young:

"ALLRIGHT, BUTTERFLIES! FORM A CIRCLE, A LARGE ONE TOO! I want spread wings, and only the furthermost feathers touching!"

They scrambled to obey the order. On a quick pass, Nightshade counted thirteen pegasi, among them Charger and Sunbeam. Captain Nightshroud, Doctor Sparkle and the dragon where in the middle of the circle, pacing the aspirants and checking if nopony was hiding an injury.

Luckily, no one was. Unluckily, that meant the next text could begin. The captain, the doctor and the dragon exited the circle and climbed up the raised platform that had been moved closer in the meantime. Now they overlooked the circle of ponies, with the dragon casting a particularly menacing shadow over the assembled aspirants.

"Now, fillies and gentlecolts, please make way for lieutenant Grim."

The temperature suddenly got colder, as a northern breeze passed by, messing Nightshade's mane. When she managed to set it straight again, there was this taut, wiry pegasus standing right beside her.

Suppressing a yelp, Nightshade let the shadowbolt veteran pass by her into the circle. He was tall and lean, but didn't have the musculature most tall ponies had. Instead he had a wiry look, and moved with a gait that reminisced of a zombie in a horror movie. His mane was short and unruly, and of a grey so clear it was almost white, his coat, by the muzzle poking out of the facemask, was actually white, or maybe pale green.

If there was a grim reaper, he dressed purple and flew for the Shadowbolts.

"OKAY, CLOUD PUSHERS! Lieutenant Grim is your next challenge."


End file.
